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Merrill Lynch top nob on dotcom downer

Our regular look at the dotcom cash thrash

A Merrill Lynch top nob has downgraded 11 online stocks including eBay, DoubleClick and Barnes & Noble. Henry Blodget feels the Internet industry is slowing and competition is levelling the market.



InterClubNet, an online network for football clubs to trade players, is going ahead with the float it announced last month. As is the trend, it has cut its initial self-valuation from £40 million to £30 million. The float on AIM is expected next week.




Microsoft and book e-tailer BarnesandNoble have joined forces to launch a site that will sell digital books. A spokesman for Barnes and Noble said that it would be the first major Internet presence doing so.




Moneysupermarket, the online mortgage service, has admitted that some technical hitches have prevented it from returning offers to customers within the guaranteed 48 hours since the site unofficially started business last week. The 14 lenders that have signed up include Woolwich and Bristol and West, have said that they will offer better deals through the site than elsewhere. The site only takes applications for mortgages over £150,000.




Shares in Telewest rose yesterday on the back of speculation that it was ripe for a take-over bid. The cable TV company saw its share price increase 10p to 170p. NTL is seen as the most likely candidate.




British-based mobile phones distie outfit - Phones International Group - is to float in the autumn. The company, which reported sales of £44 million last year, is said to be valued at £55 million.




The European Commission has given the go-ahead for United Technologies and Honeywell International to create b2b portal, myaircraft.com, aimed at cutting procurement costs.




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